After Effect
by Prophet McGee
Summary: I've put a stop to this since re-playing with the Extended Cut DLC and am currently doing a re-work to include it all.
1. Synthesis

**A/N: If you're uptight about things like language, sex, and whatnot, don't read this series. Otherwise: Enjoy, all my Mass Effect brothers and sisters. Standard disclaimer applies: Bioware owns all except my likeness of Shepard**

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><p>Synthesis: The combining of the constituent elements of separate material or abstract entities into a single or unified entity; <em>Chemistry<em> The forming or building of a more complex substance or compound from elements or simpler compounds

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><p>After Effect<p>

A Mass Effect fanfic

Chapter I: Synthesis

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><p>Pain. It wracked his body, the former Olympean perfection marred by a slough of cuts, bruises, burns, and armour fused into his skin. All of his ribs were broken, some in multiple places, his left arm was as useful as an old man's dick, and he could feel the bones of both ankles grinding against each other with every step he took.<p>

Still, Jack Shepard trudged toward his salvation... and his death.

Every painful shuffle only increased his desire to run away, but the thought of a pair of sapphire eyes kept him going forward, until he was metres away from the precipice. With the last of his will and strength, he straightened, tossed aside his Paladin, broke into a flat-out run to leap over the edge and into vibrant oblivion.

The pain didn't increase or diminish so much as it dulled, and the light of the Crucible's beam did not hurt his eyes. It was warm, and peaceful, even as he felt his body atomise and dissolve. He thought of Anderson and, surprisingly, Joker, chuckling internally as he imagined their expressions if they knew what he was doing right now. The sapphire eyes watched him again, accompanied by the beautiful, round face and that smile that he loved so much.

Jack closed his eyes as darkness came over him.

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><p>Liara popped up out of cover, her Hurricane instantly spitting out a hail of bullets that tore through the Cannibal that had been about to flank her. Dark energy flaring around her, she thrust an open palm forward to unleash a biotic projectile that arced through the air to slam into a group of husks flailing around a singularity. The projectile began a chain reaction, resulting in a violent explosion that destroyed the husks' functionality and cast them in all directions.<p>

Somewhere off to her right, she heard the booming discharge of a Widow and watched as a Banshee's head burst like an overripe _malva_ fruit. For once, Garrus didn't crow out his victory, only grimly ratcheted open the rifle's breech to vacate the spent thermal clip before loading a new canister into the weapon's stock and throwing the lever forward again.

James and Ashley were working together, using the ferrocrete rubble of what seemed to have been a store at one point to chew down the Marauders streaming endlessly towards them.

Javik was in a flanking position off to Liara's left, the green beam of his strange Prothean weapon cutting down husks in swathes.

Tali's custom-made attack drone rotated in mid-air below Garrus' position as a short jolt of electricity sent a Cannibal stumbling before it was cut down by a shotgun blast to the face.

EDI flitted in-between the scattered defilade in the field ahead of Liara, cutting down foes with Locust and omni-blade alike in silent fury.

As the asari slid a fresh clip into her weapon, she felt something steal the breath from her, and a sense of emptiness all too familiar engulfed her. She was on her knees without realising it, the submachine gun falling from suddenly-numb fingers as she clutched at her face, tears streaking down uncontrollably. A despairing cry tore from her throat as a single, obliterating thought overwhelmed her.

_Jack is dead_

It smothered her, a cold fact that curled her body into a fetal, catatonic position. She dimly felt the thumping vibrations of approaching footsteps, glimpsed a massive form through tear-blurred vision.

_Brute. Going to kill me._

The clinical thought did not disturb her. In truth, the asari was all but begging for her end. She watched longingly as the creature's massive right arm raised up, the atrocious metal talons splaying wide to maximise the damage the strike would do. A prayer to the Goddess sped past her lips as she prepared to make the final journey of her life, and hopefully go to the same afterlife as Shepard.

Twin blood-curdling roars erupted as a pair of krogan rammed into the Reaper abomination, staggering it. Liara wailed at her denied death, whether out loud or not she was unsure, and did not pay attention to the swift but vicious melee not a metre from her. A few moments later found the cybernetic turian head tossed to the ground, its blue-violet eyes glaring at her menacingly even in death. The shift in weapons fire then reached her, gunshots noticeably closer. She hoped it was more Reapers coming to kill her.

Her grief neither wavered nor intensified as her squadmates appeared, forming a wall between her and the rest of the blasted planet. Loud voices spoke above her, meaningless in her loss and nearly swallowed in the battle around them.

_'-the hell happened, Wrex?'_

_'The fuck if I know! She just started screamin' an' cryin' all of a sudden. Didn't even try to fight that Brute that Grunt killed.'_

Several loud booms caused her to wince as Wrex sent sprays of shotgun fire over his cover. A hand grasped her shoulder, rolled her onto her back, and she found herself staring into Ashley's smouldering brown depths. The Spectre asked a question, but Liara didn't hear. After asking a second time and receiving no response, she smacked her hard. Liara blinked dazedly and focussed on the human woman.

'Liara, what happened?' The question, combined with the memory and emptiness, caused a fresh flood of grief to ravage her.

'_Jack's dead_' she sobbed. The lull in her companions' attention was slight but noticeable.

Tali was unreadable behind her mask, but she took her gaze off the approaching Reapers for a moment.

Garrus' mandibles clenched tightly against his face, eyes steely hard, then he sighted through his scope again a heartbeat before squeezing the trigger.

Wrex and Grunt both narrowed their eyes before leaping over the barrier and entering into a wild melee.

Javik did not move, merely blinked once before his weapon scythed through the Reaper lines again.

James crouched down, eyes meeting Liara's as he loaded a fresh thermal clip before he rejoined the fight.

Ashley's lips parted, eyes wide, disbelieving, then she pressed them into a firm line, took hold of the asari by one arm and hauled her to her feet. Wordlessly, the human picked up the Hurricane and handed it back to her before joining the rest.

Liara stared at the weapon in her hand for seconds that seemed years, thoughts processing at an impossible rate, and came to a decision. Grief galvanised into action, and turning she took her place in the firing line.

The next few minutes were an eternity marked by an ever-encroaching flood of Reaper troops. Grunt and Wrex disappeared, lost in their running brawl. Tali took a shot through her side that punctured her suit, falling down to cover. A round pierced James' visor, just missing his temple, and two more penetrated his shields and armour to send him spinning. Blue-violet targeting lasers settled briefly on Ashley's chest a moment before a glowing red projectile shredded her shields, followed almost immediately by a second that knocked her to the ground. Rounds spanked off Javik's armour as he held off three Cannibals simultaneously before taking a shot in the neck. A husk grabbed Garrus and attempted to pull him over the barrier before his omni-blade ripped it in half. EDI ducked down to avoid a Banshee's biotics, only to be struck by the claws of another the moment she stood back up.

Liara stood alone, ablaze with dark energy as she swept the battlefield with her biotics like an ancient goddess of war. Fatigue like she had never known weighed her down, but she refused to give in until her legs buckled and she caught herself on the barrier, breathing heavily before she forced herself back to her feet. An invisible fist smashed aside the approaching Banshee, and finally the effort of using so many biotics sent her to her knees. Panting hard, she raised herself up on one arm and used the other to biotically swat a pair of husks into the asphalt. A trio of Cannibals took their place, one creasing her cheek with a pair of bullets. They were too close. Bloated hands, corrupted and gnarled, reached for her.

The air was suddenly charged with electricity, sharp enough to make her skin pucker, and the sky turned green. Everything just stopped, all at once. The Reaper troops all looked up, past the Conduit and towards the Citadel moments before a rippling wave of energy, the same hue as the sky, rolled over them. The horde of Reaper foot soldiers was flattened.

Liara could not describe the sensation that accompanied the energy. It was hot and cold, solid and ethereal, pain and healing all twisted together. She blacked out momentarily, confusion filling her when she came to.

The Reapers were leaving.

Massive, cuttlefish-shaped forms filled the air as Sovereign-class dreadnoughts made for space, their cybernetics glowing the same colour as the sky. Moments afterward, the clouds parted with an explosion of light.

Liara could not look away, drinking in the sight of the Citadel as the green energy writhed, shifted, and then finally shot off somewhere deep in space. Then, it detonated, the Ward arms separating explosively from the Presidium as the ring itself shattered, everything beginning to break up as it entered the atmosphere. Through this, a realisation struck the asari.

The light did not hurt her eyes. It should have blinded her, yet she had not even had to so much as squint. The scientist in her compartmentalised the information and stored it for later review as she noted a speck that quickly grew into a burning piece of one of the Wards. The wreckage flew right over them, crash-landing a few kilometres away, the range of motion taking her gaze back over the squad.

They were alive, bloodied and limping, but very much alive. Some were obviously more wounded than others, but the simple fact that they were all standing was reason to be grateful. Tali and Garrus, Ashley and James and EDI, they _were all alive_. No, not all; Javik lay unmoving in a spreading pool of blood, the wound in his neck still seeping dark green.

Most astonishing of all, however, were the veins of circuitry quickly spreading across their visible patches of skin, as well as the holographic lines linking them with their armour. She looked at her hands, saw the same delineations running along and through the gauntlets. Questions flew through the air as Grunt and Wrex returned, glowing the same colour. She dropped her hands.

'_Enough!_' Liara quieted them all, the sole focus of their attention. She turned, taking them all within her gaze, stopped, breathed, exhaled. Theories formed and filed away faster than she would have normally thought possible. Inhale. Exhale.

'I don't know what's happened, but there are still people out there who need help. We should find them and_-_' Any further thought was cut off as three more pieces of the Presidium smashed into the ground not a kilometre away. The shockwave sent them all stumbling.

He brushed against her mind, vapid and gone in less than a heartbeat. Her breath caught in her throat, and with a quick utterance of his name, she was running.

'Dammit, Liara, don't-! Ah, fuck, get after her!' Ashley snarled. _Don't even know how many of the goddamn Reapers are still out there and she just goes haring off..._

They all started after the asari as she wound her way through the battlefield towards the ruined station. Within ten minutes, shuttles from three different species had landed and another four pieces of the destroyed station had crashed down over London, with two more well on their way.

The search for Shepard had begun.

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><p>Darkness. Then, light. Neither bright nor dim, just adequate. He understood: This simply <em>was<em>.

The Catalyst. Creator. Destroyer. Saviour. It watched him.

'You have done what I could not. You have brought peace.' Silence. No need for him to speak.

'You were willing to sacrifice your own life for something you would never see. It is within my power to give you back this life.' A spark of hope, unquenched. Distrust, uncertainty, both expelled, incompatible.

'Live, Jackson Ray Shepard.' Dimming. A pulse of white. The ghost-child fades.

'_Live._' Darkness.

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><p>For the longest time, darkness. Dust and the shifting of clouds mottled it, broke it up. Once, a flash of lightning dispersed it. His mind processed the days, counted the endless seconds, made them go by swiftly, filed them away. Repair cycle paused, maintaining stasis cycle. Basic neurological functions online. Starting homeostatic functions. Error. Jump-start of nervous system required. Reviewing memories.<p>

Born human. Organic. Error. Integrated circuitry. Organic tissue. Synthesis. Combined. Proto-organic. The first. The Prophet. Processing... Origin unknown. Relevance: one-hundred-decimal-zero percent.

Injuries: Left forearm, broken. Left clavicle, broken. Ribcage, shattered. Right saddle joint, broken. Right ankle, broken. Left ankle, broken. Left lung, pierced. Large intestine, ruptured. Twelve lacerations, eight bruises, five burns. Internal bleeding. Addendum: Left lung: repaired. Large intestine: repaired. Toxins from bodily waste cleansed. Broken bones mending. Surface wounds closed. Burned tissues regenerated. Internal bleeding repaired, blood re-routed to circulatory system. Overall repair progress: seventy-nine-decimal-one percent.

The processes made his head hurt. More lightning came.

Error, sound patterns inconsistent with lightning. Revisal: lights, omnitool generated. Sound patterns consistent with removal of rubble in accordance with SAR teams. Reinforced by voices, footsteps, radio chatter. Likelihood of search parties, one-hundred-decimal-zero percent. Scanning... Four sapients. Human, two. Asari, one. Krogan, one. Range: fifty metres, distance closing. Contact with asari prioritised. Scanning neurological patterns... Neurological pattern unidentified. Divulge location? Error. Action impossible, requires higher brain functions currently dormant until end of stasis cycle. Contingency Alpha activated. Resuming repair cycle.

The ghost-child smiles.

'_Live_.'

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><p>Green eyes surveyed the room, synthetics glowing as the searchlight swept the space. Rubble was every-damn-where, clogging up any path further through this part of the Presidium. Reyes turned to Ela, both of them haggard and tired, barely having gotten half-adequate sleep due to the events of the past week. None of them had managed to learn anything more about what <em>exactly<em> had happened, and the one person who could was buried under a fuckton of rubble, or disintegrated, or God-knew-what. The one asari, T'Soni, was adamant that he was here, but others were not so sure.

It was enough to make the Lieutenant tired beyond his years.

Regardless, it was out of his hands, and even had it not been, his sense of duty would have compelled him onward despite how he felt. Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams would have knocked him on his ass, otherwise. Besides that, the woman was intimidating as all hell.

'By the numbers, people,' she said, not bothering to turn back as she began to pick her way through the detritus. The search-and-rescue team complied, breaking off into teams to help each other comb through the wreckage. After a few minutes, Ashley's comm beeped. She reached up and tapped the ear stud once.

'Spectre Williams.'

'_Commander, it's Admiral Hackett. Any luck so far?_' He sounded hoarse, but otherwise strong. How the old bastard did it was beyond her. The rest of her squad looked up from their work, their own radios patched in to the same channel.

'Negative, sir. My team's currently at Crash Five, about three-quarters done with our half. Garrus's team is a little ways behind us,' she replied. Hackett sighed through the line.

'_Acknowledged. Finish your sweep and then switch out with Dr. T'Soni. I'll contact Vakarian and update him. Hackett out._'

'Understood, sir.' The reply was automatic, ingrained after years of service. A double-tap on the comm muted the external microphone before she turned to her team.

'You heard the man. Let's finish our sweep, but _don't get sloppy_. Last thing Shepard needs is for us to become a bunch of slack-asses and pass him by,' she barked. Her eyes drifted around the room again, stopping suddenly as she noticed the dimness brighten minutely. She raised a hand, clenching her fist.

'Hold it... Anyone else notice the light?' The others all strained their eyes, looking for the slight shift. Only Ela caught it.

'I see it. There's another light source in here!' she exclaimed. Ashley continued scanning the walls until her gaze fell on a cage-like formation of wreckage. The light oscillated again, barely noticeable even to her enhanced vision. Ella was scrambling over the rubble in seconds, peering over the edge and shining her omnitool light into the area.

'I see someone!' The others held their breath. 'Black armour... N7 logo! I can't see his face but I think it's him!' Ashley darted up next to the asari and followed her light, glimpsing the midnight-black ablative plates, red-and-white N7 symbol, and the now-familiar digital spiderweb of integrated circuitry.

'Let's get this pile of shit off him!' she ordered, and the team jumped to life, tearing away the dross more than clearing the area. It only took them a few minutes before a massive humanoid form became clear, tucked away behind another layer of debris that had shielded it from any projectiles careening around the space. Pulling away this layer plus everything near his head revealed strong Irish features, flame-red hair, and glowing white synthetics that pulsed briefly. Ashley's features slackened in disbelief (banished quickly), and relief.

'Reyes, med scan!' His omnitool lit up instantly, data streaming across the interface. The Lieutenant's face pinched in confusion.

'Ma'am!' he called. Ashley caught his eye. 'Definitely him. But... This is... _weird_. Like 'ain't never seen this crap, whole other galaxy' kind of weird.' He passed the information over to her, which she quickly perused before minimising the display.

'Even I know enough to know that medically, he's considered alive, LT. Start clearing the rest of this mess, people. Don't touch him until further notice.' She pressed a few more buttons on her omnitool before she reached up to tap her comm again.

'Williams to T'Soni, come in Liara.' The line was silent a moment before a tired voice spoke.

'_I'm here, Ashley. Go ahead_.'

'We found him.'

'_Where?_' Any vestige of exhaustion had dissipated.

'Crash Five, about three-fourths in. Looks like an atrium of some kind. I'll activate my beacon.'

'_I'll be there in ten minutes_.'

'Got it.' A few more taps changed the frequency again.

'Spectre Williams to Admiral Hackett.'

'_Hackett here, go ahead Commander._'

'Sir, we've found Shepard.'

'_You're positive?_'

'I ID'ed his face myself, sir.'

'_Understood. Does Dr. T'Soni know?_'

'She was the first person I called, sir.'

_'Good. Do you want to transmit the news to the fleet?_' She grinned.

'That I would, Admiral.'

'_Wait one... Go ahead, Spectre_.'

'Attention all Citadel forces and citizens. This is Spectre Ashley Williams. We found Captain Shepard. I repeat: We've found Captain Shepard. He's alive, people.'

The cheer that rose up could be heard throughout Earth space.

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><p><strong>AN: So, hope you enjoyed this. If you have any ideas, lemme know and I'll see if I can't work them into this. Please R/R, that stuff keeps me going_ -__ Prophet_**

**CHANGELOG:**

**17MAR12 - Added line breaks**

**17MAR12 - Added one missing line break, edited a little bit here and there**

**23MAR12 - Took out the Normandy crashing and replaced it with pieces of the Citadel. Javik now KIA**

**25MAR12 - Corrected Shepard's rank  
><strong>

**20APR12 - Fixed a few mistakes  
><strong>


	2. Awakening

**A/N: _Sooooo sorry_ about the wait, y'all. Take recovering from St. Patty's Day, combine it with a long night at work, and I'm left with little time to work on this. That said, I've put extra time and effort today into writing this. I hope everyone enjoys! Standard disclaimer again: Bioware owns Mass Effect**

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><p>Awakening: Rousing, quickening; The act of waking from sleeping; A recognition, realisation, or coming into awareness of something<p>

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><p>After Effect<p>

A Mass Effect fanfic

Chapter II: Awakening

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><p>The battered XM3 skycar could not get Liara to her destination fast enough. Of course, it would have been impossible to get her there as fast as she wanted even had the thing been pristine and hot off the showroom floor.<p>

Most of the Presidium wreckage had rained down over the British Isles, with a few bits landing in the Atlantic, and the remains of the Wards were scattered mainly throughout the northeastern hemisphere, but so far teams had kept to London, largely due to the search for Shepard. Crash Five was the fifth piece that had impacted, smashing into the city on the far side of the Thames River, opposite the former British Parliament building. This placed it very far away from the tent city that had sprung up to provide search-and-rescue and relief efforts. Fortunately, no-one had had a giant piece of ancient alien technology come falling down on their heads.

Liara had had to jack the skycar, one of the few working models, from an off-duty SAR team. Either word had gotten out, or her snarl had been fierce enough to scare the guard out of her way, but regardless she was able to get airborne without incident. The beaten vehicle rose listlessly into the air and crawled forward.

The ten minutes were an eternity. She arrived. He brushed her mind again. Liara bounded heedlessly through the wreckage.

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><p>Radio chatter became so hectic within five minutes that Ashley ordered all non-essential communications silenced. Garrus had been informed regardless and was there inside of two minutes. Someone woke up James in his hospital bed. EDI had been monitoring radio chatter but was too far away to get there in any reasonable amount of time. Tali was onboard one of the quarian liveships recovering from her wounds, and thus was unavailable. Liara had just landed, the noise of biotics smacking rubble aside growing closer until she was there, eyes darting frantically around the room before settling on Shepard's still body. She inhaled, crying out as she sprinted to close the distance.<p>

He had not been moved, that much was clear, and Liara privately thanked Ash for that kindness. But though it was apparent that he was whole and intact, there was something very clearly 'off', as the humans would have said. His scars were still there, true, but there were no signs of decay, no open surface wounds, none of the burns she had seen him afflicted with. Some bruising was visible on his arms and his left ankle, possibly from closed bone fractures, but that was it as far as injuries. She couldn't tell if his armour had fused to his body anywhere, aside from a quick visible check that told her 'no'. Like the others, he had circuitry running visibly beneath his skin as well as the holographic lines linking into what was left of his armour. _Un_like the others, his synthetics were white. Liara was unsure what the significance was. Her radio crackled to life.

'_Search Team Vanguard, this is medical transport 'Hope', we're two minutes out_.' Ashley tapped her ear stud.

'Spectre Williams here, acknowledged. I hope you boys have a gurney large enough for the big guy,' she replied, turning to once again take in the nearly krogan-sized man. A chuckle answered her.

'_We got him covered, LC_. _Hope out_.' A double-tap muted the microphone.

'Alright, people, medivac incoming. Let's make a hole for them to get Shepard out of.' Everyone moved.

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><p>Shifting patterns of light assaulted his eyes. The processor, the logic-engine, <em>brain<em>, sorted the data, made sense of it, dismissed it. A voice called out to him, distorted, blurred. Flashes of blue reached blindly for him. The voice threaded through the dark, searching, ever searching.

New sapients detected. Scanning... Human, two. Asari, one. Turian, one.

Light again.

The Catalyst watches him.

'Live.'

Images. Recollection. Kissing on the edges of time. A caress. Love. Liara.

Tingling from a touch. Energy coursing through him, memories of sapphire eyes. _Liara T'Soni confirmed_. A thrill of joy. _Goddess, please!_

Another mind touches his. Melding. Synthesis. _Completion_. Two made whole.

'_Jack!_' The voice resonates around him, through him, _within him. _Deep blue eyes find him. He flings his arms around her. Warmth. Life.

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><p>Nervous system restarted. Higher brain functions restored. Starting homeostatic functions... All major bodily functions operating nominally. Repair cycle complete, ending stasis.<p>

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><p>His heart beat, sending blood through his veins. Lungs inflated to draw in air as he breathed. Inhale, exhale.<p>

Shepard's eyes opened, white synthetics shimmering momentarily. A grey slab of ferrocrete greeted him, blocking out most of the overcast sky. Before any other sensations registered, Shepard knew exactly how far away, how heavy, how many imperfections, and the shade of grey that slab was. The angle of the light streaming through the dust over him denoted the time to be exactly 1851, thirty-one seconds. He told the information to piss off.

He was lying flat on his back at a slight incline, too many pillows propping up his head, warm hands clutching either side of his face. His armour was gone, replaced by a too-small pair of sterile hospital pants and one of those oversized gowns that felt like a parachute. Inhale, exhale.

There were others in the room, their minds swirling around him, separate. One sensed him, intimate, familiar, different, but elementally and irrevocably united with him.

'Jack?' The question was charged with emotion; fear, hope, and uncertainty all rolled together within a single, tremulous word. He had waited an eternity to hear her voice again. It was worth it.

'_Liara_.' The fingers dug into his skin for a moment, then she was nearly atop him, sobbing with relief and joy as she all but squashed him against her. He slid one arm around her waist, sitting up as he pulled her into his lap, and she relinquished her grip just long enough to let him position her before she crushed her lips against his, hard enough to bruise. Shepard could taste her tears as she snaked one hand behind his head and held him there, kissing him with a fervour she'd never shown before. His mind calculated that they'd both have bruises for two full weeks and deduced a slight sodium imbalance from the pH level of her tears. Even after they broke for air she clung to him as though she were drowning, burying her face in the juncture of neck and shoulder where she trembled for long minutes. Her pulse raced, rate of heartbeat and blood pressure known instantly to him as their circuitry interfaced with one another.

'I thought I'd lost you,' she whispered, over and over again as he stroked her back and tightened his hold on her, gently lest he squeeze too hard. She smelled of the battlefield, sweat and dirt and grime and no time for even a quick wash, but underneath it all was the faintest hint of... _her_; a combination of brine, soap, and a gentle floral scent. Finally she calmed down enough where she no longer shook, though she did nothing to lessen her death grip on Shepard, her breath tickling his neck. He let the silence stretch a moment longer.

'I promised, didn't I?' His voice was hoarse from lack of use and he coughed once to clear his throat. Liara's fingers clenched the thin cotton of his garment before she sniffled and slowly withdrew her head from its perch and pressed against his mouth again. Their kiss was gentler than before, slower and more languid, very reminiscent of the first time they'd melded and explored each other. He teasingly flicked the tip of his tongue against her upper lip, eliciting a pleased murmur as she pulled away.

Sapphire eyes glimmered back at him, laden with elated, still-spilling tears. Shepard instinctively reached up and brushed them away, grazing a pair of nearly parallel bullet wounds slathered in a protective layer of medi-gel.

_A trio of Cannibals. Gunfire. Shots skimming along skin, tearing. Pain, surprise, exhaustion. Corrupt hands reaching, grasping._

They gasped together at the memory transfer, and his hand dropped reflexively, eyes sizzling with data before the shifting patterns stopped. For a moment, neither moved, both too shocked to even think. Thankfully, they were spared further embarrassment by a loud, conspicuously turian cough.

Focussing past the lovely blue woman in his lap, Shepard picked out several figures through the gloom. Ashley stood with arms crossed, one eyebrow arched as she smirked. His glance sized up the cobalt armour, covered in scratches, dents, jagged edges, and pits from gunfire, while splotchy bruises marred most of her face in a disquieting reminder of Mars. A large section of the ablative ceramics had been fused together directly over her heart, and she seemed to be favouring her left leg, but was otherwise fine. The data for her injuries and recovery time winked out with a blistering thought. Garrus was leaning against the wall to their right, his mandibles twitching excitedly. His armour showed much wear and tear as well, gashed in several places, the right spaulder torn away completely. That same arm was in a sling, but he showed no other injuries. Biometric data again streamed into his mind, and again winked out at his mental _fuck off._ Standing between them all was Dr. Chakwas, her uniform dirtied and torn in some places, but still projecting the same air of confidence and experience.

Most disconcertingly, he did not immediately notice the green wiring beneath their exposed skin, and even when he did he did not question it. _Synthesis_. The notion that he had accepted it all as natural disturbed him more than a bit.

Garrus spoke first.

'You know, if you two want a room, we can all just leave.' Liara's cheeks darkened considerably, suddenly aware of the fact that she had wound up astride Shepard sometime between kissing him and Garrus' interruption. The Spectre laughed, a deep rumbling sound that vibrated throughout Liara's torso and made her belly tingle. She turned and did her level best to glare threateningly at the turian, instead causing both him and Ashley to join Shepard. Karin snorted unexpectedly.

Her effort in vain, Liara ducked her head back into the crook of Shepard's neck to hide the furious blush that coloured her entire face. This only encouraged their catcalling.

'It is not like-, I mean, I- Oh, Goddess take you all!' she exclaimed. Their laughter increased in volume, the good doctor even joining in. It was a little while before the noise died down and even longer before Liara's blush disappeared. Her belly continued tingling. Chakwas broke the silence, stepping forward.

'Excuse me Liara, but I need to scan the Captain.' The asari made to disentangle herself entirely from Shepard, but was stopped by a hand against her lower back. A spark of need danced in Shepard's steel-grey eyes.

_Stay with me?_ The question rang in her head, unspoken but clearly from her lover. She cupped his cheek with a hand.

_I'm not going anywhere, Jack_.

His eyes widened, the grip loosening after a long moment, and she gracefully slid off the bed and gave Chakwas enough distance to run her omnitool along Shepard's upper body, though Liara kept one hand possessively on his shoulder. His eyes never left her, unmoving as the doctor finished her pass at his head and took a few steps back to begin analysing the readings. Liara immediately filled the gap, feeling his arm wrap around her waist as he gingerly scooched to the very edge of the bed. Her fingers twined with the hand on her hip as the other two moved in. Skin. Soft, pleasurable. He squeezed.

'So how you feeling, Skipper?' the marine asked. Shepard took a moment to shift his shoulders and feel out his body, wincing slightly in the process.

'Fucking sore as all hell.' He grimaced and coughed again. _Hydration necessary_. 'Water?' Garrus grabbed up a cylinder from the table behind him and unscrewed it, handing the container to Liara. Turning, she batted away the hand that reached up.

'Let me,' she said, her gaze brooking no argument. Shepard's glower lasted all of a moment before the container pressed against his lips, cool water sliding past and soothing his throat. Swallowing hurt, like a forgotten chore to his muscles, and he stopped drinking when he nearly spluttered. _Hydration complete._ He made a loud noise of contentment as Liara passed the cylinder back to Garrus, her fingers absently massaging the well-developed muscles along the nape of his neck. Shepard let out a contented breath.

'Much better. Still almost feels like Cerberus rebuilt me a second time, but my throat's not in a damn grater anymore,' he quipped. The group chuckled lightly.

'How long's it been?' Shepard asked. He felt Liara tense slightly beside him.

_Emptiness. Despair. Wailing beneath a black sky. Dead dead dead dead _dead_. Soul rent twice. A meaningless existence, alone. All alone..._

The memory transfer did not surprise either of them as much as the first had, though both gripped each other noticeably harder. Ashley answered, oblivious to the glowing throb in his synthetics as his mind processed the new data.

'Nine days since the Reapers were defeated, Skipper.' He relaxed visibly as she continued. 'Two since we pulled you out of the wreckage.' Shepard's face scrunched in confusion.

'What wreckage?' Silence descended, uncomfortable. Liara placed her free hand on the round mass of his shoulder and opened her mouth to speak at the same moment Garrus did.

'I'm afraid any more questions you want to ask the Captain will have to wait until tomorrow. _All of you_,' Chakwas interrupted. They all turned or looked at her simultaneously. She was still going through the readout on her omnitool, though they could each feel her attention on them.

'Shepard needs to rest, _regardless _of what he thinks,' she said forcefully as he began to protest. 'There will be time enough for questions after a few days' recuperation. And must we all forget that legendary metabolism of yours, Captain? You haven't eaten in nine days.' As if in response, his stomach growled like a feral beast, causing everyone to howl. His glare was baleful.

'I hate you all.' Moments later he had a shit-eating grin plastered on his face and was laughing with the rest of them.

'Wins against all odds, sends the Reapers packing, saves the galaxy, and then gets taken down by a pint-sized woman three times smaller than him,' Shepard counted, ticking the points off on his fingers.

'Psh, _everyone's_ pint-sized compared to you, Skipper. Even krogan. Except Wrex. And Grunt,' Ashley cracked. They were all laughing again.

'Let's not forget that that 'pint-sized woman' is your medical officer, and one of the few people in this galaxy capable of grounding your ass, Shepard.' The doctor's use of profanity brought everyone up short. They were all quiet a moment.

'You know, I think that's the first time I've heard you swear, _Karin_,' Shepard said somewhat sobrely.

'Time and place, _Jackson_. Now the rest of you, out. You can visit again tomorrow.' Shepard flinched at the full use of his first name. They were herded toward the door.

'Wait, your first name is Jackson?' was all Ashley managed before Chakwas had her in the hallway. He cringed inwardly, already imagining the ribbing that was headed his way.

'Doctor Chakwas, I would prefer to-' Liara started.

'Stay? I know, Liara, and personally I approve. He'll heal faster with you around, and you're probably the only other person on the planet he'll listen to. I'll see to it that we get a larger bed in here for the two of you. In the meantime, make sure he stays on that one. I'll have some orderlies bring food, though it's hospital fare, I'm afraid.' Her smile was apologetic, but one look at the asari showed only relief and gratitude.

'Why does she get to stay? I was fighting with him, too,' Garrus complained.

'Bondmate's privilege,' Liara sniffed. Shepard nodded in agreement.

'Lucky bastard,' the turian grumbled even as he stepped into the hallway, followed by Doctor Chakwas. The doors hissed quietly shut after them, leaving Shepard and Liara comfortably alone. She stood still for a moment before reaching down and gently squeezing his hand. He squeezed back.

'You heard me,' he stated. The asari met his eyes.

'I did not expect to. Such a phenomenon is not unheard of among dual-asari bondmates, but never with another species. I guess it all has to do with... this.' She gestured at the glowing circuitry that spiderwebbed through his impressive musculature. Shepard looked at his left hand, twisting the heavy limb to examine the cybernetics before he scrubbed it over his face and groaned.

'I really, _really_ don't want to think about it right now. I'm tired and hungry, and for once the galaxy doesn't need me to save its ass.' Shepard caught her gaze. 'The Reapers are really gone?' She smiled wanly, eyes heating up suddenly as she blinked away the tears.

'Yes, Jack. Though gone is perhaps not the proper term. They are... no longer a threat to us. You can rest knowing that you beat them.'

'I think it's safe to say I've earned a bit of rest.' Liara smirked.

'Doctor Chakwas _did_ put you on bedrest, and I have every intention of making sure you follow that order, Jack.' He groaned again.

'You too?'

'Me too,' she answered, leaning in to kiss him placatingly. Shepard had to admit, it was an insidiously genius way to get him to comply.

_Cheater_ he thought.

_I didn't hear you complaining_ she retorted. He narrowed his eyes as a solution presented itself, smirking back in turn.

'You know, the longer I stay in this bed, the more of those I'm gonna need.' Liara's brow arched, accompanied by a small grin as she leaned in.

'I think that can be arranged,' she whispered as their lips brushed again. His mind calculated the time again when he opened his eyes, 1920 hours exactly, and weariness began tugging at him.

'There's not enough space on this bed for both of us, the way we're used to,' he stated sleepily. She drew upon her biotics to slowly help him back until he was lying flat again, taxing her enough that she was leaning heavily on the bed when she finished. Taking a shaky breath, she pushed off and stood straight, wobbling slightly.

'I had a couch moved in here. I'll be fine, Jack.' Shepard shook his head.

'Fuck that horseshit. Besides, I'm right here and I'm a much better pillow.' Liara began to protest, stopping when he folded his fingers into hers.

'I'll be alright_, mo_ _ghrá_. All the major damage has been repaired, thanks to... _this_.' He gestured at the pulsating white lines in a mirror of her earlier movement.

'It's just some soreness. 'Sides, like I said, this bed's too small for both of us and I'm a fucking gorilla to begin with. I'll be fine.' He saw the conflict in her eyes as she bit her lower lip, the need to be close to him warring against her desire for him to heal. The answer revealed itself, coming from both the data running around in his head as well as his soul.

'Liara, _you could never hurt me_,' he whispered. Her eyes glistened for a few seconds before she smiled slightly and sniffed.

'I believe you, and I trust you,' she said as she began undoing some of the buckles and seals on her armour, setting aside her cuirass, gauntlets, boots, and greaves. Underneath, she wore a sleeveless white body suit that ended at mid-thigh and left _nothing_ to the imagination. Shepard tossed the covers down to make room for her, eyeing her unabashedly the whole time as she crawled up and hovered above him for a few moments to kiss him before laying atop him with exaggerated care. Liara pulled the blanket back up, running her hands gently along the outsides of his massive arms as he slowly lashed them around her hips.

His fatigue slowly cradled them down into sleep's peaceful embrace, far past even the realm of dreams.

They exchanged a single thought before slipping away:

_I love you_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, focus on this chapter was on capturing the camaraderie of the _Normandy_ squad and expressing the love, as I imagined it, between Liara and Shepard. Also, for those who are wondering, I've included some info for my Shepard.**

**Vanguard, Colonist, Ruthless (Butcher of Torfan). He's a Paragon, but he's got a sailor's mouth and gets things done like a Renegade. Ultimately, good guy at heart, badass on the outside.  
><strong>

**As I stated not-so-subtly, my Shepard's a _huge_ guy. Think 7 ft. tall, 300-ish lbs. When I thought of a Vanguard, the image that entered my mind was something along the lines of a biotic built like a MACK truck, capable of running over or through anything in his path. **

**I want to thank **x Kyuubi z** for pointing something out to me: To clarify, I've never used quotation marks to indicate speech in my writing as far back as I can remember. I instead use apostrophes, which most authors use to highlight thoughts. In my case, thoughts are italicised and outside of apostrophes. That's simply how I write. Just wanted to make sure that y'all weren't confused.  
><strong>

**Anyways, please R/R. Hope you liked it - _Prophet_**

**CHANGELOG**

**21MAR12 - Tweaked a bit here and there; Added to the author's note.**

**22MAR12 - Tweaked some more**

**23MAR12 - And tweaked things further yet again.**

**25MAR12 - Corrected Shepard's rank, edited a little bit  
><strong>


	3. Convalescence

**A/N: Not much to say this time around. Just hope that you guys enjoy this. And, as ever, BioWare owns Mass Effect and everything associated with it**

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><p>Convalescence – The gradual return to health after an injury, illness, or an operation, especially through rest; The period during which such recovery occurs<p>

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><p>After Effect<p>

A Mass Effect fanfic

Chapter 3: Convalescence

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><p>Shepard returned to the waking world on a slow swell of consciousness, coming out of the most peaceful sleep he'd had in over a year with a deep breath that expanded his chest. The grey smear above him resolved into extremely fine detail, his ceiling greeting him again as he caught the angle of the light lancing through his window. <em>0747, twenty three- Shut up<em>. He grimaced at the automatic calculating, hating his lack of control over it and the fact that it made him feel like a synthetic, always analysing shit instead of letting it be. He already had enough ghosts haunting him that he didn't need any more. A quiet whimper broke the room's tranquility as the warm, pleasant weight atop him shifted.

_Liara..._

She lay much as she had since they'd fallen asleep, body snuggled lovingly to his, breaths slow and deep, head nestled against his chest directly above his heart. It seemed fitting, considering that Shepard had given it to her all those years ago. He enjoyed the curves of her face for awhile, admired the tiny variances in skin colour and smattering of freckles beneath her eyes. Even when rallying the galaxy to fight the Reapers, there had been a slight tension when they'd stolen away for a few hours to be with each other, unable to forget the burden weighing down on them.

Now, all of that was gone, replaced with a serenity that neither of them had known in a long time. Granted, the galaxy was a mess following the invasion, but having the threat of imminent extinction removed made things immensely easier. An enormous amount of effort would be expended rebuilding the mass relays and bringing everything back together, he knew, and it was only the hope of a future with Liara that gave him the strength to continue.

She moved again, crawling slightly higher as she took one immensely deep breath before her eyes fluttered open. Shepard felt her come to, like watching the lighting in a room brighten, the small sounds of her awakening vibrating through his chest. Eyelids fluttered open sleepily, Liara's circuitry glowing for a moment before fading as the sapphire discs of her eyes found his own steel grey ones. He felt the muscles in her cheeks bunch as she smiled sluggishly, her head rising so she could prop her chin on his chest. Her hands snaked up from his upper arms, nails tracing the lines of his muscles up along his shoulders and neck to cup his face and hold him still before placing a languid kiss on his lips, pulling herself further forward in the process.

'I think I could get used to waking up like this,' Shepard said after they broke, nuzzling her cheek. The heat of his breath sent a pleasant shiver creeping down her spine. His words sparked a recollection, memories surfacing from not so long ago. Her smile widened.

'You said the same thing after you woke up from the Battle of the Citadel, when you were, once again, in a hospital.' He snorted.

'At least I'm consistent. But, I also said it after I'd gotten out of Huerta, on the SR-1,' he replied, holding up a finger to emphasise his point. Liara hummed in amusement, the fingers of one hand playing with the fiery red strands of his hair while she lay her forehead against his cheek. Shepard's arms tightened around her slightly before stroking her back, and the two were content to lay there quietly for some time and bask in each other's presence. His mind tracked the seconds from the sunlight three times before she stirred again.

'It's still so hard to believe you're alive, Jack.' He turned to look at her with one eye.

'Why? What happened, Liara?' Shepard asked. She shuddered and gripped him tighter. His muscles twinged slightly at the motion. It was several long moments before she pulled herself off of him enough to lock gazes with Shepard, eyes misty.

'When we were running for the Conduit, Harbinger fired a shot that looked like it had hit you dead-on. The blast was close enough that it knocked several of us away. By the time we'd come to, you were nowhere to be seen. I thought...' Her voice caught as a tear slithered down her cheek. 'I thought that you'd been killed.'

Shepard's look was empathic as he wiped the tear away with his thumb and his love slid back down into his embrace. She was silent a few seconds before continuing.

'I realised shortly afterwards that I could still sense our bond, and the rest of the squad was relatively unharmed. We fought for our lives... like nothing we've ever encountered before. This was even worse than... than Thessia.' Mentioning her homeworld was still clearly uncomfortable for Liara, judging by her downcast face, but she pushed forward with her explanation regardless.

'Those... _abominations_ the Reapers created were relentless. Wave after wave came until it was just a vast horde. I lost track of how many I killed until...' She faltered again, her grief evident and still fresh. Shepard waited patiently.

'Jack, _I felt you die again_.' Her entire body trembled against him, snug and close, as she wept quietly.

_Emptiness. Despair. Dead dead dead dead_ dead_, he was dead. A soul twice rent. Meaningless, all meaningless without him._

He didn't flinch this time at the memory transfer, watched the small patterns of data dance across his vision for a moment. Liara took a shuddering breath, pulled away and looked him in the eye. She'd shed more tears.

'Then there was this light, a brilliantly green flash. It rolled over us, and the Reapers left. We've been destroying whatever ground forces we come across.' More silence. Liara sniffled.

'Jack, what happened on the Citadel?' she asked. Shepard reached up, fingers tracing the outline of her cheek and slowly gliding along the sculpted folds of her scalp until he cradled her entire head in his colossal hands. He gently pulled, indicating for her to perch further forward until she complied.

'I... don't think that words would suffice. Here, _mo ghrá_. Let me show you.' Jack touched their foreheads together.

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><p><em>Initiating memory transfer.<em>

_Harbinger. Red spears scorching in front of him. Blackness, for a time. Pain pulling him to consciousness. A lance of light to the heavens: He steps into it._

_Darkness. Decay. Anderson's voice speaking to him. Every step forward fire. Anderson at the console. The Illusive Man controlling them, his skin torn. Shepard's finger pulls the trigger. A spray of red. Anderson grunts. TIM dies first. Slumping down. Darkness claims him._

_Awakening. The Catalyst approaches. Struggling to his feet. The Crucible's beam burns coldly ahead. Three choices; Destruction, control, synthesis. The Catalyst explains, vanishes. An azure face hangs in his thoughts. He leaps into the beam._

_Atomising. Dissolving. Adding to the Crucible's power. Synthesis. Sapphire eyes; Liara. Darkness claims him._

_Memory transfer complete._

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><p>Liara gasped at the unexpected flood of images, taking every thread of thought Shepard gave her. The sensation was not unlike melding, albeit a far more crude version of it. Her eyes fluttered open, synthetics incandescent for a moment before fading back to her far more preferable blue hues. Silence reigned as her mind processed the information, hovering over him.<p>

'It explains... _so_ much,' she whispered, sitting up. Shepard arched a brow, an expression she understood equal to asking the question 'like?' among humans.

'Well... _this_, for starters,' she smirked, gesturing again with her hands to the thin green lines visible along her bodysuit. He chuckled. She began worrying her lower lip. Shepard let her take her time.

'Jack, you were in the Citadel ruins for a full week. There was talk of abandoning the search, but I was still able to sense you, and that was enough to convince Hackett. By the Goddess, you should be dead from lack of food and water alone. But instead, we found you intact with no signs of decay, not even any weight loss, encased in some kind of white barrier,' she explained, becoming slightly detached and more of the scientist he'd first met.

'The initial medical scans were... interesting.'

'Good interesting or bad interesting?' he asked. Her brow rutted thoughtfully.

'There was rudimentary neurological activity but no other internal physiological functions, yet your body was just as healthy as the night before we reached Earth. We had signs of broken bones, but it was as if they'd been set and mending for months instead of days. You had none of the burns or cuts I saw inflicted on you, no detectable infections or internal injuries.' Liara paused, licking her lips.

'This... synthesis seems to have had drastic effects on all sapient species in the fleets above us. The quarians have reported exponentially stronger immune systems.' _Quarian resistance to disease increased- Piss off._ 'The geth are also reporting what can only be described as emotions and- well, I think I'll let EDI explain when she gets here,' she finished. Shepard pursed his lips and nodded.

'Not bad. But, you said that it 'explained so much', and that's not much of an explanation,' he stated.

'I wasn't entirely finished,' she said, playfully boffing his chest. 'As I said, everyone was affected to some degree or another, but you are more enhanced than any other by far.' Shepard's gut began to writhe at the implications.

'Enhanced?' he asked as he began sitting up. Liara became wreathed in dark energy as she helped him.

'The implants Cerberus used to rebuild you are far more advanced than they were originally. You were at the focal point when the Crucible fired. It is logical to assume that the Catalyst's technology was infused into you at that point, and that your implants underwent a kind of forced evolution in seconds. You're the only one we've seen with such an accelerated level of sophistication,' she explained as he settled back against the pillows. Shepard was quiet as he absorbed it all, Liara leaning into him again, hands on his shoulders.

'As much as that doesn't sit well with me, it makes sense. My brain keeps on spouting things at me no matter how many times I tell it to shut the hell up,' he said.

'How do you mean?' His arms wrapped around her waist again, looking back at the window once more. _Time, 0803- Goddamn it, stop!_

'Well, for starters, I've been able to tell what time it is simply by the angle of the light. I know exactly how far away I am from each wall, room temperature, and I can pick out fine details and variances in your skin tones, and that's just from a little over twelve hours regaining consciousness,' he explained, then took hold of one of her hands.

_Interfacing... Complete. Bioanalysis commenced...  
><em>

'Your internal body temperature is ninety-nine-point-seven degrees Fahrenheit, pulse forty-three beats a minute, and you haven't been eating properly,' Shepard stated. Liara's eyes widened, nonplussed as he withdrew his hand. 'Yeah, I know: There's no fucking way I should know that, but I do.'

'And this has been happening since you woke up?' she asked. Her love nodded in affirmation.

'Aye, insofar as I can remember. Hell, for all I know it was happening while I was out co-' Any further train of thought was cut off by a demanding rumble from Shepard's stomach that Liara felt roll up through her. The asari began laughing as he grimaced.

'Well, it's good to see that _some_ things haven't changed,' she managed through her mirth. Jack gave her a level stare.

'Thank God, I'm still me, and I didn't a chance to eat anything last night before you forced me to sleep. Can we eat now? Looks like some of the staff left food for us,' he said, nodding towards a pair of carts at the foot of the bed. Liara made a blithely indignant noise.

'I did not force you to go to sleep! You were already tired, and _you_ pulled _me_ onto the bed!' she exclaimed, twisting around to see what he meant and making to get off the bed, stymied by his unrelenting grasp.

'But before we eat, I believe I'm owed something for being a good boy?' Liara took a moment to catch on to his meaning.

_Indeed_ she replied as she leaned in and placed a long, gentle kiss on his lips.

_Now, stay_. Shepard woofed at her as she hopped down and sauntered over to the carts. His eyes were following the sway of her hips as she rolled them around to his reach. She noticed, facing him fully.

'See something you like, Jack?' the asari asked. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards.

'Just thinking about dessert.' Liara's cheeks darkened a few shades, and she swallowed. He felt the echoes of her desire through their bond.

'Goddess, Jack, I want to, but not until we know your exact condition,' she said after a minute, opening the carts and setting out their meals, her motions quick and shaky. They were silent as they ate, the stack of trays reaching Shepard's shoulder by the time he was finished.

'At least you've retained your appetite,' the alien noted, placing them all in one cart and back at the foot of the bed. She pushed the couch she'd been eating on back against the wall before climbing back onto the bio-bed. Shepard kissed her brow, his stomach finally content for a few hours.

'Do you know what happened to the fleets?' he asked after a minute. She shook her head, smirking.

'No. I've been occupied, searching for a Spectre who made a promise to return to his bondmate.' They both chortled and were interrupted further conversation by a chime as the door hissed open to admit Chakwas, carrying a box of vials.

'Shepard, Liara,' she greeted as she walked to the head of the bed. 'I take it he stayed in bed?' Liara nodded.

'He did. I have given him an incentive to keep him from getting completely out of hand. It is... mutually enjoyable.' Chakwas' eyebrows rose.

'Oh?' the doctor asked. In response, Liara turned and kissed him.

'I see. So long as he's not exerting himself,' Karin said.

'He won't until you say otherwise, doctor. You have my word on that,' the asari promised. The doctor nodded and set down the small box as the man sighed in resignation.

'I'm going to need some blood for testing, Jackson.' Shepard flinched. 'Fortunately, this hospital has a pair of emergency eezo generators that have been able to keep the place running for quite some time, so we haven't lost anyone due to a power outage, and we've been able to keep everything not destroyed in working order. The invasion killed off a good deal of Earth 's population, and most of Britain's in the process, but we've been swamped with medical demands from the fleet. Not all of those needs are human: There were a lot of turian and quarian casualties,' she explained as she extracted a sterilised needle. Liara scooted out of the way as the doctor wrapped an elastic blue band around Shepard's massive upper arm, his prominent veins popping out in seconds. The needle caused little discomfort, and Chakwas quickly filled six vials. As she was putting everything back in its place, he laid a meaty hand on her forearm.

'Before you cart that off, Doc, I need to ask... Any word on my grandmother?' Liara slid back to her position on Shepard's lap, tentative as she listened.

'There is, Jackson.' Another flinch. 'According to records, she's in the room next door.' Seeing his reaction, she added, 'Bobby suffered a broken arm and and collarbone from falling rubble while helping comb the Citadel wreckage looking for you. You can see her, but it will be in a hoverchair linked to Liara's omnitool.'

_Oh, dammit all... I hate recovering_. 'It's like you don't trust me, Doc.' Liara patted his cheek before sliding off the bio-bed.

'Come, love. Let's go see her. I'm looking forward to meeting the woman who raised you.' Doctor Chakwas retrieved a folded pair of breezy hospital trews and shirt from a closet and handed them to Liara. The asari put on the pants and her boots, opting out of the other piece of clothing.

Three orderlies came with the hoverchair, but before they could help, Shepard had swung his legs over the bed, set his feet, and stood straight without any support.

_Gyro not calibrated._ There was a moment of vertigo before his legs gave out and he pitched forward. Several voices shouted out in surprise.

_Ah, fuck m-_ Shepard smashed face-first into the cold tile of the room's floor, his ears ringing from the impact. _Ow..._

_Balance not possible. Recalibrating... __Error. _Feet scuttled toward and then around him, hands grasping and lifting him up as his hearing returned.

'-sure he doesn't do that again or I'll have him strapped to the bed.' Chakwas, angry. Liara's wrath was searingly caustic through his bond-sense.

'If he so much as tries it, I'll hold him down for you.' Liara's voice was as biting as her glare as Shepard was seated heavily into the hoverchair. He at least had the decency to look embarrassed under her gaze, fidgeting uncharacteristically.

_Don't you dare do that again or I'll put you in a stasis bubble for the rest of your convalescence_ she thought ferociously as her eyes bored into him. Shepard blanched, an impressive feat considering his pale skin tone. Liara's omnitool came to life as the chair powered up and levitated a foot off the ground.

'You three stay with the Captain and help him back into bed when he's done with his visit,' Chakwas ordered as she picked up her box. 'I'll be by later to talk with you, Shepard,' she said as she walked out the door. He grumbled under his breath.

'You were saying something?' Liara asked, the tone of her voice at odds with the sweet look she game him. Shepard perked up instantly.

'Just that I'd like to go see Gree, _mo ghrá_,' he replied smoothly. Liara tapped a command, and the hoverchair whirred as it glided forward, the orderlies in tow.

The room next to his was occupied by a short, iron-haired woman clearly in her twilight years, looking about as comfortable confined to her bed as her grandson was. Her face instantly lit up as they entered.

'Jackie boy, I'd heard that ye'd survived!' she exclaimed at seeing him, her Irish accent thick. Hopping off the bio-bed, the small woman hurried over and wrapped him up in a one-armed embrace as he enveloped her in his own arms, mindful of her broken limb.

'I'm glad you're alright, Gree,' Shepard said quietly. Liara turned and shooed the orderlies outside as the older woman laughed.

'Aye, that I am. It's the famed McGee family toofness, especially if'n ye're any indication, boyo.' Bobby pulled his sleeves up and examined his scars, noting the bruising that was still evident at his wrists and left forearm. 'Ye look like ye've been through hell an' back. And what happened te yer lips? Ye decide te stop a Reaper wiv yer kisser?' Liara blushed violently as a faint tinge of pink coloured Shepard's cheeks.

'Um... No, actually, I decided to stop my bondmate's lips with me kisser, mam,' he replied, a bit of the Islander brogue beginning to slip into his own voice.

'Bondmate? Yer pretty blue-skinned gel, ye mean? I take by the bloosh on her face that the lovely yoong woman cartin' ye round is she?' the woman prodded slyly.

'Aye,' he replied. Bobby stood and walked around until she was in front of Liara, eyeing her for a good minute.

'Liara, aye? I've seen yer likeness before, gel. Jackie boy sent me a picture o' the two o' ye, back after that first business wiv te Citadel. Ye know wha' I thought?' Liara shook her head.

'I couldn't get over how peaceful he looked. Ye know te story o' Mindoir, aye? Messed the boy up fer a loong time, losin' 'is fam'ly like 'at. When I saw ye two together, he looked like he did in the days before the attack. I woondered wha' the gel who could bring him to such a state was like, and Christ Almighty knows I tried to arrange it.' The last was directed at her grandson as she bonked Shepard on the head.

'_Hell, mam, it weren't me fault!_' he exclaimed in Irish. Liara could only look on in confusion, as her translator wasn't programmed with the language.

'I know, boyo. 'S aright, though. I've met 'er now, and taken her measure, Jackie.' Bobby turned back to Liara.

'Ye're good fer 'im. Tha's wha' matters te me, no' the cooler o' yer skin ner which planet ye came from.' Her face softened. 'Take care of 'im, will ye lassie? He's me only blood left.' The asari swallowed, her voice heavy with emotion when she spoke.

'I will, madam.' Bobby waved a hand irritably in front of her.

'Ach. Piss on that. Me family calls me 'Gree', and ye're family, lass. None o' tha' 'madam' business from ye, aye?' Liara smiled.

'Very well, then... Gree.' The name was strange on her tongue, yet she liked it. Bobby was talking to Shepard again.

'Ye go' the ones wha' killed Jack, boyo. If'n he were alive... Ye know he loved ye wiv all he had,' she said sadly.

'I know, Gree. I miss him too. At least he'll be waiting for us at the bar when we get there.' Bobby nodded and chuckled slightly.

'Off wiv ye. Spend time wiv Liara. The Almighty knows ye'll have precious little in te coming days. We'll talk more later, boyo.' Liara tapped a control on her omnitool and began guiding her bondmate toward the door.

'You _do_ know that I'm right next door, right?' he asked.

'Aye,' she answered as she picked up the book she'd been reading and sat down again. 'Jus'... don' wake me if ye're keepin' each other up at night.'

'I promise nothing,' he replied in a not-so-quiet singsong, already in the hall.

The asari's blush returned with a vengeance as the door closed.

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><p><strong>AN: So, to clarify a few things: I did a novelisation of the first and second games on a separate computer before it broke and I lost all my progress, and there were several things I did that were non-canon. First and foremost, Jack Shepard was raised by his maternal grandparents after the attack on Mindoir; Jackie and Bobby McGee, whom I modeled after my own grandparents (we're all McGees as well, in case anyone believed I simply thought my pen name was nifty). The title 'Gree' comes from slurring Grandma McGee into one word, and is also what we use when referring to her in my family. **

**Another thing I forgot about: In my series, I promoted Shepard to Captain following the Battle of the Citadel, which I will be correcting in my prior chapters.**

**Lastly, I'm going to stop asking for R/R and instead say this: If y'all want to review this and/or give c/c, go ahead. If you don't want to, that's just as fine. BUT, I work faster and better when I get feedback, so I'll start pumping out more chapters. Thanks for reading - _Prophet_**

**CHANGELOG**

**25MAR12 - Fixed a few typos, edited a little bit**

**28MAR12 - Added a bit, fixed a typo, tweaked things overall  
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	4. Update

Update

In my last author's note, I mentioned that I'd novelised the first game and had been working on the second when my computer broke, and I lost all my progress. I got a review from among you loyal readers asking me to post my novelisations. Well, I can't: The hard-drive was fried, and I had no back-ups made (dramatic music.)

Ever since I got that review, I've had an idea rolling around in my head, but I think that I'll leave its fate up to you, my readers.

My idea is this: Do y'all want me to re-write my original stories and know Commander Jack Shepard the way I envisioned him? Or do y'all want me to soldier on with my current work?

To this end, I will be holding a poll for one week. Vote whether you want me to return to Shepard's roots and write out the beautiful Mass Effect saga that Bioware has provided us and then continue with After Effect; Or, vote for me to carry on as I am. I will post the results on the morning of Tuesday, April 3rd my time (UTC+9:00). To vote, simply PM me with your desire, and I'll keep a running tally on my profile page.

**If you write a review with your vote, it will not count: Leave the review section for reviews.**

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts - _Prophet_


	5. Poll Results

Thank you everyone for being patient with me while this poll runs its course. I wish I had another chapter to put out, but my muse has been such a fickle bitch that I've barely been able to string together a few sentences. Final results are as follows:

Continue After Effect: 5

Re-write Mass Effect: 1

I know, the numbers are laughable, but it is what it is. I'll try and put up Ch. 4 asap. Thanks to everyone who participated - _Prophet_


	6. Lamentations

**Stand disclaimer applies: Bioware owns Mass Effect, I only own my likeness of Shepard**

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><p>Lamentation – The act of lamenting or expressing grief; A lament<p>

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><p>After Effect<p>

A Mass Effect fanfic

Chapter IV: Lamentations

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><p>'Jack, stop playing with the controls or I'll have you tied to the chair,' Liara threatened. Shepard's vain attempts at taking positive control of the contraption from his bondmate ceased after another futile try, and he growled in frustration.<p>

'You know I hate hospitals,' he grumbled. She ran the fingers of her free hand along his stubbled cheek, glowing momentarily in adoration as he pressed against them.

'I know. But I also know that Chakwas will make your visit uncomfortable if your usual antics keep up.' He grimaced at the thought. The doctor was one of very few people capable of eliciting such a reaction from the man.

The food carts were gone when Liara and Shepard re-entered their room and found the three orderlies tasked with helping Shepard wheeling out the bio-bed, having been replaced with a larger version capable of holding the couple at the same time. A minute later found the Spectre laying down again with his blue-skinned mistress curling up next to him contentedly. The orderlies departed and the couple was left alone for a few minutes before a doctor came, took Shepard's vitals, and left. Jack felt Liara's synthetics spark and sizzle as they interacted with his own, sending memories back and forth randomly.

_Therum, trapped behind a pair of shimmering white-blue barriers. Waking early to hunt reed pheasants with Jazz. Watching the sun set behind Mindoir's hills._

Her fingers pleasantly coaxed his hair while a calloused hand trailed along her neck, eyelids lulling closed as they slipped into a comfortable state.

_Sheepishly avoiding Mother's scowl, dirt-stained hands hidden. Cowering in fear as the strange human charges headlong at the krogan. Tossing his dress cover into the air at officer graduation. Mother humming a lullaby as her baby slips into sleep. The colony burns as he holds Ren's tiny body in his arms._

Shepard stiffened despite himself at the memory. His bondmate could practically taste the sorrow that still plagued that particular recollection, gently snuggling closer and kissing his cheek to comfort him.

'It is not your fault, Jack.' He only nodded slightly. The pain lessened somewhat and Liara took heart that she could at least do that much for the old wound, which no other had been able to even approach.

'Sometimes I wonder if that will ever truly heal,' he said softly. She was silent a moment before replying.

'I imagine that were I an approximate asari age to your teenage years and I came home to Armali and found it burning, my family slaughtered, and the slavers responsible for it were torturing my baby sister, the memory would travel with me for the rest of my life.' Shepard shifted slightly, a tell that he rarely gave and one that Liara had learned he did only when uncomfortable. He tried to combat the fatigue pressing at him again.

_Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck I hate recovering_. His bondmate heard his thoughts and sensed his weariness, laid a hand on his chest.

'Rest, Jack. I'll be here when you wake up.' Shepard tried to reply but his mouth refused to form the words, and he felt the welcoming oblivion embrace him as her lips pressed against his own. She slipped into a pleasant half-sleep alongside him, her burgeoning cybernetics feeding random bits of his biometric data to her. Somehow they comforted her, feeling his breath and powerful heartbeats and knowing the science behind how well his body was functioning, despite medicine being far from her area of expertise. She exhaled, glad to simply be in his arms and not have to worry about an impending invasion or him rushing off to stop an alien menace.

The deep-seated urges she'd been keeping at bay slowly trickled to the forefront of her thoughts as she lightly stroked a hand over an arm at least three-quarters the size of one of her legs, even after she'd focussed on working them when Jack had expressed his particular liking for 'thick thighs and plump asses'. A finger traced the sharply-defined channels of his musculature, not for the first time admiring the solidity of his build and how well he'd managed to keep in shape. Tiny embers of heat gradually pooled together in the spot between her legs as she thought back to their first night, just before Ilos. She had been so nervous, despite her conviction that what they were doing was right, and he had managed to allay all her fears with that first kiss, had been so gentle with her even when her body demanded more of him. No-one would have believed that the walking mountain of a man was capable of loving again after Mindoir and Torfan had emptied him of the emotion.

The years had changed them: He had become more open and she more ruthless, more human. But they both still balanced each other. The fact that their love had persevered despite the adversity of the Reapers only strengthened her desire to stay with him, come what may.

Shepard's lids fluttered as his eyeballs stuttered in REM sleep. Liara raised herself up a bit and carefully pressed her forehead against his in an attempt to interface with him as he had done earlier. A few moments of concentration rewarded her with a feeling not unlike initiating for a meld.

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><p><em>Amalgamating... Complete. Accessing REM cycle.<em>

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><p><em>Mindoir was burning again. No matter where he went he was greeted by flames and scorched pre-fabs. The faces of those long-dead stared back at him through the conflagration, their skin crackling and peeling back as muscle and adipose tissues spat and sloughed off their bodies.<em>

_'You survived,' they accused. Dream-Jack gasped, turned and ran as hard as he could._

_'You survived,' they repeated, the phrase like a mantra. His parents watched him from outside the skeletal remains of the warehouse they'd used to store crops for the planet's hard winters. The fires consumed them until their blackened skulls grinned back at him._

_'You survived.' Their voices were not as he remembered, thin and reedy and devoid of emotion. Gunshots drew his attention, and he was greeted by his brothers slumping against a fence, a lone batarian standing over them, heavy-calibre pistol still smoking. Blood and brains and bits of bone painted the fence. The twins' grey eyes focussed on him as they sloppily gained their feet and pointed incriminating fingers._

_'He survived,' they intoned. Four pits found him as the slaver turned, lips opening in a toothy grin._

_'Not this time.' The hand cannon raised up, aligning with him as he began to flee. He had no rifle, he could not fight back._

_Thunder split the air as the weapon discharged. Dream-Jack stopped mid-stride, mouth hanging slightly agape, and began to shake uncontrollably._

_Ren stood before him, her dress in smouldering tatters, blood pouring down the side of her face from the open wound on her head where they'd tried to implant the control chip. A second crimson bloom stained the girl's side, the laceration hanging open to reveal intestines, liver, and a kidney, all cut to pieces. Wide emerald eyes looked at him innocently, worshipping him, _trusting _him._

_'Why didn't you save me, Jack?' The voice was so sweet, so pure it cut like numberless blades._

_'I tried... I tried so hard,' he replied, his voice sounding weak even to him as it crackled with sorrow and regret. Not-Ren stepped closer. He didn't have the will to retreat from her._

_'You were supposed to take care of me.' Jack slipped to his knees as she closed the distance between them._

_'I'm sorry.' He couldn't even hear his own voice. Tiny hands grasped his cheeks and tilted his head back to look at her. Ren's face began to melt, brilliant red hair crisping as ocular fluids ran down her cheeks._

_'You survived.' Bony fingers pulled him into an embrace as the inferno consumed them both._

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><p>Shepard woke with a loud start, frightening Liara as he sat straight up, his muscles protesting their abused state a moment later. Groaning, he let his torso simply fall back down, nearly squashing his bondmate. She watched him the whole while, sidling up against him once more uncertainly as he breathed heavily, beads of sweat quivering on his brow.<p>

A pained noise escaped him as he relived the nightmare in a heartbeat. The information transmitted through their bond.

'Oh Jack,' Liara whispered as she wrapped her arms around him comfortingly. Shepard fought the heat behind his eyes down shudderingly, and pulled her as close as he was able, trembling slightly against his lover. It was only with a monumental effort of will and several minutes that his shaking ceased.

'I remember the first time we melded, when we were hunting Saren.' She spoke in a voice almost less than a whisper, stroking his collarbone in what she hoped was a soothing gesture. 'Along with the information from the Prothean beacon, I glimpsed a memory of you chasing her through a field of tall yellow flowers. There was laughter, and you were having more fun than I thought you capable of at that time.' Shepard's gaze grew distant as he fished around his memory for a few minutes. A small, lop-sided smile curved his mouth.

'Most of what we grew on Mindoir was vegetable crops, but one of the colonists, a woman named Elaine, had brought several packets of sunflower seeds from Earth. She had a ten-acre field that the kids would play in. Ren loved running through it, 'specially if she and I were playing tag.' He chuffed slightly.

'I was always 'it', and I'd never catch her.' The smile waned. 'It's been sixteen years, and I still miss them.' Liara's fingers brushed his coarse stubble, memories of Beneziah bubbling up.

'Who they were has stayed with you in your heart, as my mother has with me. They'll never truly die so long as you hold them there.'

'It'll never replace them, though,' he countered before scrubbing a hand over his face and placing a finger on her open mouth. 'Let's not argue, I'm not sure I have the will for it right now.'

Before the asari could respond, a chime announced the arrival of two very tired people that immediately brought a smile to Shepard's face.

'Cat, Mal!' he exclaimed as the two contractors trudged into the room. A second inspection put both the bed's occupants on edge: the mercenaries looked exhausted, their very gazes haunted and glassy. Cat held one hand closed tightly.

'What's wrong?' Shepard asked. A creeper of dread began digging around his stomach. Metal clinked as Cat's fist clenched tightly for a moment, then she extended her arm to him, palm downward. Jack reluctantly placed an open hand beneath it. Something cool and metallic plopped into it. He recognised it as a pair of dogtags, blackened and crinkled. Turning them over and reading the name, he felt his guts churn violently. A small voice spoke in his mind, denying what he saw. Icy talons constricted around his heart.

_No. NO. No no no no no nonononononono!_ Liara gasped as she realised what had happened. Mal stirred slightly and spoke.

'The Reapers destroyed the SSV _Pale Horse_ in the battle over Earth. All hands lost.' The dead voice trembled thickly with emotion at his next words. 'Jasper Kell confirmed KIA.'

The words hit Shepard with all the force of a supernova, clawing and biting and tearing him apart as his heart throbbed painfully. He started shaking, the heat he'd fought down rushing back up to his eyes as Cat and Mal moved to either side of the bed and embraced the two between them. Liara wrapped herself tightly around her love.

He had survived events that would break hardened men, saved the galaxy three times over, and come back from the grave twice now. Most of the people he'd come to care about had disappeared from his life without so much as a tear shed. But this, this was far too much, even for the legendary first human Spectre. The flensing pain of losing a friend who had been closer than any brother left his heart raw with grief.

For the first time since Mindoir, Jack Shepard wept.

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><p><strong>AN: Dear God. I've never had this much trouble putting out a chapter. I'm so sorry about the wait, y'all, I hope this chapter helps even though it's much shorter than what I normally write.**

**To make a few things clear: Cat and Mal are members of a small mercenary group called Grey's Legion, headed up by Shepard's best friend: Jasper 'Jazz' Kell. In my old fic, Jazz and Shepard survived Mindoir together, and Shepard's grandparents were kind enough to take in Jasper as well.**

**As ever, R/R is appreciated - _Prophet_  
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